In the Fourth Discourse of his work, Brantôme mentions the case of a fresh and plump lady of high repute, who, through love-sickness for one of her admirers, so wasted away that she became seriously alarmed, and for fear of worse resolved to satisfy her passion, whereupon she became plump and beautiful as she had been before.
I have heard speak, adds Brantôme, of another very great lady, of very joyous humour, and great wit, who fell ill and whose doctor told her that she would never recover unless she yielded to the dictates of nature, whereupon she instantly rejoined: Well then, let it be so; and she and the doctor did as they listed.... One day she said to him: It is said everywhere that you have relations with me; but that is all the same to me, since it keeps me in good health... and it shall continue so, as long as may be, since my health depends on it. These two ladies in no wise resemble that worthy lady of Pampeluna, in the Queen of Navarres Hundred Tales, who, as I have previously said, fell madly in love with Monsieur dAvannes, but preferred to hide her flame and nurse it in her burning breast rather than forego her honour. And of this I have heard some worthy ladies and lords discourse, saying that she was a fool, caring but little for the salvation of her soul, since she dealt herself death, when it was in her power to drive death away, at very trifling cost.--Lalannes _OEuvres de Brantôme_, vol. xi. pp. 542-5.
To these extracts we may add that the problem discussed by Brantôme, three hundred years ago, is much the same as that which has so largely occupied the attention of modern medical men, namely the great spread of nervous disease and melancholia among women, owing to the unnatural celibacy enforced upon them by the deficiency of husbands.--Ed.
Various French, English and Italian authors have written imitations of this tale, concerning which Dunlop writes as follows in his History of Fiction:--
The plot of Bandellos thirty-fifth story is the same as that of Horace Walpoles comedy _The Mysterious Mother_, and of the Queen of Navarres thirtieth tale. The earlier portion will be found also in Masuccios twenty-third tale: but the second part, relating to the marriage, occurs only in Bandellos work and the _Heptameron_. It is not likely, however, that the French or the Italian novelist borrowed from one another. The tales of Bandello were first published in 1554, and as the Queen of Navarre died in 1549, it is improbable that she ever had an opportunity of seeing them. On the other hand, the work of the Queen was not printed till 1558, nine years after her death, so it is not likely that any part of it was copied by Bandello, whose tales had been edited some years before.